Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen (8th, Engine): "It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing. I had an engine problem, the reason for which now needs to be analyzed. The car was good and I had a good pace when I found a free track ahead of me. I spun a couple of times trying to pass those ahead of me, but the first time, with Glock, I put a wheel on the grass and the second time, with Kovalainen, I was a bit too optimistic. This result is obviously not the best start to the season but it is a very long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this. We have to put everything in place and then we will be really competitive."

Felipe Massa (DNF, Engine): "A horrible start to the season. We had engine problems which is unusual for a team like ours. We have to understand what happened and react immediately. I was fighting my way up the order all race long. At the first corner I lost control of the car while battling with Kovalainen and ended up off the track. Then I moved up the order and could have finished in the points. The incident with Coulthard? I was on the inside and he closed the door on me, probably because he hadn't seen me. Our championship will have to start again in Malaysia. We know we have a good car we have to work to be able to use it as intended."

Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "This has definitely been a very difficult start to the season and we have got off on the wrong foot. However, we should not react in an over emotional way to this. We weren't a phenomenon before and we're not carthorses now. We have to work out exactly what happened to the engines on both F2008s and they are being sent immediately to Maranello for analysis. As for the performance, we saw that when we were not running in traffic, we could run a very competitive pace. This shows that the potential is there, but we have to be in a position to exploit it, which means starting from the front. The whole team has not performed to our usual standard. We have to roll our sleeves up and react, as we know we can."

Luca Baldisserri, Head of Trackside Operations: "There's not much to say about a disastrous start to the season. We did not work well on any level and this is the consequence of that. We know how important is reliability and we were severely lacking on this front. It is absolutely ages since we have seen two engine failures in a race. We have to look at every detail of this weekend to understand what went wrong and how we can improve. We have seen the technical potential is there and we have to do everything to use it to its maximum, starting in qualifying."

BMW Sauber

Nick Heidfeld (2nd): "This was a fantastic start to the season for us. The team was working extremely hard to solve the problems we had in the beginning with the F1.08. We made constant progress and we have not exploited the full potential of the car yet. At the start I had too much wheel spin and could not keep Nico Rosberg behind me. I thought it is going to become a difficult race because I expected him to pit earlier. But we stopped on the same lap and our crew did a really great job to get me in front of him. With my second pit stop I was lucky that the safety car didn't come out earlier and I could refuel as planned. In the last stint I had to take care not to kill the option tires. Overall the first race without traction control was less difficult than expected."

Robert Kubica (DNF, Damage): "My race went pretty well in the beginning. I was on a similar strategy to Nick and I had a good pace. Then the strategy was changed and this did not pay off for me. I got stuck behind Bourdais and lost a lot of time. I still had a chance to score some points, but then at the end of the third safety car period Nakajima crashed into the rear of my car and I had to stop."

Dr. Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: "This was a fantastic start to the new season for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In a turbulent race with three safety car periods and numerous retirements, Nick kept cool and finished second, achieving the first podium of the season for the team. Only Lewis Hamilton was quicker. This was a real strategy game. Nick was somewhat lucky with the safety car periods, Robert was unfortunately unlucky. Towards the end, Nakajima pushed him off the track. Up to this point he had driven a strong race after his fantastic qualifying yesterday. Together with our qualifying performance on Saturday, this is a good basis for the next races. This was a motivation boost for the whole team. A big thank you to all our colleagues in Munich and Hinwil."

Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "This was an exciting race which generated mixed feelings. It's fantastic that Nick clinched second place, but at the same time I'm sorry for Robert who had an unlucky race. At the start Nick was overtaken by Nico Rosberg, but thanks to the fantastic work of the pit crew, he was able to overtake him in the pits. From that moment on he drove a fast and consistent pace. He finally benefited from the third safety car period, and equaled the best result of the team so far. We changed Robert's strategy during the second safety car period, but unfortunately he got stuck behind Bourdais and lost a lot of time. After Nakajima had crashed into the rear of his car, he stopped for safety reasons."

Renault

Fernando Alonso (4th): "That was a very strange race with lots of overtaking, incidents and mechanical problems for lots of drivers. We were able to make the most of the opportunities that came our way today and finished the first Grand Prix with a good result, which will give the team a boost and give us confidence for the rest of the season. However, we must continue working to improve our level of performance in qualifying and our pace in the race, but the result today is very important for us."

Nelson Piquet (DNF, Damage): "I made a good start and I was able to make up some places during the first lap, which was pretty hectic. Unfortunately I was hit at the start, which damaged my car and so I did not manage to reach the end of my first Grand Prix. Of course, I am disappointed, but I learned a lot this weekend and I cannot wait to go to Malaysia to continue my apprenticeship and hopefully get a better result. I already know the Sepang circuit, so it should be easier."

Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "I think that Fernando's performance today was just wonderful. He used everything that we gave him and more. We were rather unlucky with the safety cars and debated whether to switch strategies under the safety car, but our tire wear would not allow us to change on to the soft tire and reach the end of the race with just one stop. As it was Fernando got severe graining on the soft tires in his final stint, which gave him a lot of understeer. Nelson's difficult weekend continued as he got hit on the start line which caused considerable damage to the rear of the car. He found it very difficult to drive, which explains his slow lap times and maybe even his retirement as we are still investigating what happened."

Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: "Fernando's fourth place today is an excellent omen for the start of the season. He drove a superb race, fighting all the way from the back of the field. Even though we were set back twice by the safety car, what he managed to do was exceptional. In particular, his overtaking of the McLaren in the closing stages was spectacular. We still have to work, but it is encouraging to see that we are not the only team that needs to improve. As far as Nelson goes, this was his first race and a difficult one for him. But I am sure this has been a learning experience for him, and I am confident that in the races to come he will do better."

Williams-Toyota

Nico Rosberg (3rd): "I am really, really happy and I have to say that being on the podium in Formula One is a really great feeling. It's been a while since I have been here and its great for the whole team as they have been working hard over the winter, they have done a good job and made some real progress. I gave everything I had today, but it was a tough race on a street circuit in the heat which didn't make it easy. The team deserves my thanks for this great result and it really encourages me to feel that I can grow with Williams. I also want to thank my father for everything he has done to help me to get to this position. We have a solid race car and some good developments coming, but we don't want to get too excited because it's early days yet."

Kazuki Nakajima (6th): "To get to the end today was great, great to finish and great to get some points. It was really tough out there today physically, but on top of that there was so much going on. At the start, a car spun in front of me, turned side on and damaged my nose. Then with the various safety car periods, the team did a great job to swap my strategy to a one stop that put me in the points. Towards the end of the race, I had another incident when all the cars backed up into each other and I damaged my nose again. But it was good to be able to demonstrate my physical fitness and my consistency and I'm looking forward to Sepang which is a circuit I know better."

Sam Michael, Technical Director: "It's a fantastic start to the season, we knew we had the potential in the car but didn't realize it because of the reliability problems we had in practice, but that all came out in the race. Nico kept his head down through lots of difficult situations, he had good strong car pace throughout the race and congratulations to him for his first podium. Kazuki did well too despite being involved in two incidents. Both cars had solid reliability throughout the race and it's great to go away with a haul of points from the first Grand Prix. After tonight we will look forward to Malaysia for better qualifying and build on our second place in the championship."

Red Bull-Renault

David Coulthard (DNF, Accident): "I can understand that Felipe (Massa) was in a quicker car and was trying to overtake, but you've got to have your car alongside to pass, especially in a corner like Turn one, you can't just ram into them. Felipe took a lunge from too far back and Turn one is a corner where you have to turn in early - it's not like Turn three, which is a hairpin and door's open for a long time. I screwed up last year when I tried a speculative move on Alex (Wurz), but I took full responsibility for it and I would expect Felipe to do the same today."

Mark Webber (DNF, Accident): "It's a real shame, I'm very disappointed. I had a reasonable start into Turn one, I was behind Kimi (Raikkonen) going around the outside, then I think someone hit Jenson (Button) on the inside and I had to go on to the grass. I had a good run down to turn three, but then (Kazuki) Nakajima came along side with no front wing. I thought 'this will be interesting', - he had a bit of a moment and he and (Anthony) Davidson were very tight next to me. I was trying to give them as much room as I could and, although I didn't really feel any contact at all, I think the left rear of my car got a clip from Davidson."

Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "A massively disappointing race, especially for Mark at his home Grand Prix. Unfortunately, it was one of those Sunday afternoon's when nothing seemed to go right for us, although we weren't alone in that respect. Thankfully the next race is only one week away, so we'll look forward to leaving Australia tonight."

Fabrice Lom, Renault: "It was a pure race technically, we suffered two accidents due to the fault of others, but that is racing... We can see that the new rules have put some fun and hazards into the race! We have to deal with that - the best drivers will be on the track at the end of the races and we will be among them."

Toyota

Timo Glock (DNF, Accident): "That was a hard way to return to racing in F1. Given our starting position this was always going to be a difficult afternoon's work. I had contact with two other cars at the start but despite our heavy fuel load we were able to make up some ground in the early part of the race. Still, the car felt a bit strange in terms of understeer and that's what we have to work on to improve the car. After the pit stop it was hard work to drive and my race ended with the crash. I feel fine but I'm disappointed and we will hope for better fortunes next week."

Jarno Trulli (DNF, Battery): "From early on in the race the battery was too hot. Then when I stopped in the pits it just gave up. That is a pity because the car felt good and I was doing pretty well. I was running comfortably in the points so it is unfortunate to lose out on a scoring start to the year. Still, the car is better than last year's and there is performance to come. Here we didn't look too strong because we didn't work the tires perfectly but even so we could have had a good result. So I'm sure we can fight well this year and I hope to be stronger in Malaysia."

Tadashi Yamashina, Team Principal: "This was a tough afternoon for every team because it was the first race and there were such high temperatures. But under these conditions Toyota must show our teamwork and I'm so disappointed that Jarno performed so well but he suffered a reliability issue with his battery. We must analyze the fault to make sure it doesn't happen again. Timo will have gained a lot of experience from his first race. Fortunately he's fine and I'm very glad about that. We will now do our best to improve at the next race."

Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Sebastien Bourdais (7th, Hydraulics): "It's not the first time I've experienced disappointment in racing and it won't be the last, but what is important is that the team has worked really well, reacting very quickly, getting me into pit lane as soon as the lights went off for the second safety car. It was a great call. From then on I was good to go in terms of fuel and others ahead still had to stop. It was very tough as I was under a lot of pressure from behind, first from a BMW and then it was Fernando and Kovalainen. At one stage, I decided to back off a bit, but I found I was making a few mistakes, so I pushed harder and pulled out a bit of a gap. I hardly dared look at the pit board, but I knew it was nearly the end of the race. At the start I was down the order and running quite heavy and I was struggling a bit. But then I got the hang of things and after the restart my radio did not work for a moment, so I was caught out by the green light. But to come from almost last to fourth was an excellent start. I hope we get two points and in a first grand prix, that's not too bad!"

Sebastian Vettel (DNF, Accident): "My problems began at the start when I stalled. There was nothing I could do about it as that problem was not actually my fault. That meant I dropped down the order and going into the first corner I had Kimi on the left and Jenson on the right. I tried to stay as close as possible to Kimi to give enough room to the car on the right. Then, as I turned into the corner, I felt that I had been hit on my rear right side. That spun me round and I was in the middle of a collision. Very disappointing."

Gerhard Berger, Team Principal: "Bourdais proved all through the weekend that he was the right choice to put alongside Vettel. He was a bit unlucky in qualifying, but he had a fantastic race, fighting with the best he managed to keep his position even towards the end on old tires. He made no mistakes, reading the race in the right way from beginning to end. I think we have a great team and showed a great performance all weekend. But the luck was not on our side and it hurts to be in a safe fourth and lose it with two laps to go. We can try again next Sunday, but fourth places don't come that often so you have to take them when they come. One point, or maybe two, is better than nothing. At the moment we do not know what exactly caused Sebastien to stop at the end."

Honda

Rubens Barrichello (Disqualified): "Although the final result of today's race is so disappointing, I'm really pleased with my performance and that we were able to get the best out of the car. It was a crazy race today and I lost control of the front damper after the first pit stop, so my race was more difficult from there. It's tough to finish the day like this. The signs from the weekend show that this car has great potential and the guys back at the factory have done a fantastic job over the last few weeks on its development. It was good to complete a full race distance to increase our understanding of the car. We'll now look forward to Malaysia and optimizing the performance of the car there."

Jenson Button (DNF, Accident): "I got a good start off the line, getting past Alonso and running alongside Vettel. Unfortunately it was just a racing incident that caused the damage as we were going three or four cars abreast down to the very narrow and quick first corner. I tapped Vettel in the sidepod which seemed to spin him and then he turned in and hit my rear wheel as I was going past. I thought that I could get back to the garage and see if the car could be fixed, but the damage was too bad to continue as the rear left corner trackrod was broken. It's been a good opening weekend for us. We're encouraged by our performance and I'm now looking ahead to Malaysia next week and getting back in the car there."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "Shortly after we called Rubens in for the second of two planned pitstops, Timo Glock had a crash and the safety car was deployed. We had no alternative but to continue to bring him in because he was out of fuel, although we realized that the pitlane was going to be closed due to the safety car and that this would result in a 10-second stop-go penalty. During the pitstop the lollipop was lifted just a fraction early while the fuel hose was just coming off the car. After the pitstop Rubens exited the pitlane when the lights were still red and obviously this is in breach of the regulations. A tough set of circumstances after an otherwise very committed drive by Rubens. He got a good start and was able to keep Kimi Raikkonen behind him for 19 laps, so it is the positives that we take away from this weekend. In qualifying we saw that the pace of the car was in the midfield and today's race confirmed that we have the potential to fight for points, which is our target. The aerodynamic package for Melbourne has worked well but a further step is required to move us up the grid and enable us to be a regular contender in Q3."

Super Aguri-Honda

Takuma Sato (DNF, Gearbox): "It was a difficult race for us. I did not get off the start well, but after that I fought back for position and gained a few places in the first lap, and that was an exciting moment battling in the first stint. After the first pitstop and a few laps we had a problem and I had to stop, which is a shame as everyone has done such a good job to get us here and make it happen. But I think that we collected very valuable information and data today, so I cannot wait to get started again in Malaysia."

Anthony Davidson (DNF, Accident): "It is disappointing to have an early retirement from the Australian Grand Prix. I am really frustrated that I couldn't do the laps that I wanted to today and finish the race, as that was my main aim. We haven't had much time in the car this weekend or in testing and it was really important to get that done today, so it is gutting not to have done that. I feel that through no fault of my own I was sandwiched between two cars, trying to avoid the inevitable. I tried to brake to get away from it and the cars right and left just rode over my front wheels, so there was no where for me to go."

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal: "I would like to thank all my staff and drivers as I know that it was a very difficult winter period for the team. We are now here in Australia and although we have not completed enough pre-season testing, I think that everyone has done an excellent job this week, even though we had limited running in Friday's practice, Qualifying and in the race. Anthony was very unlucky after the start, but Takuma had a good start and showed well in the race. We did not finish both cars, but we are here, we have started the 2008 season and our fighting spirit has not diminished."

Force India-Ferrari

Adrian Sutil (DNF, Hydraulics): "A big disappointment, especially when I watched the race afterwards, but it was good while it lasted. In the opening laps I could stay with the guys in front of me and could overtake to get up to 13th position, but then I had a hydraulic pressure problem. I had to go back to the pits, so at that point my race was over. We have to hope for more in Malaysia, but I think we showed an improvement over last year, particularly over the longer runs in practice, so I am confident we can really do better there."

Giancarlo Fisichella (DNF, Accident): "I am very disappointed as I lost the race at the first corner because another driver came in like a kamikaze into my car and it was very frustrating, especially considering a race like this where there was a possibility to score lots of points. It was a good opportunity and I am really disappointed. Let's hope for more in Malaysia."

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: "A very disappointing first race for Force India and obviously a great opportunity to score points missed, although I am sure a lot of the press releases will also be saying that. Giancarlo was unlucky at the first corner, with someone outside him and with Glock and Piquet not under control coming down on the inside. He just had nowhere to go. With Adrian we had a hydraulic failure, a result of having to rebuild his car from yesterday and not being able to do any installation checks, which was a shame as he was running very competitively and would for sure have had a good result. But overall a positive weekend in terms of car pace and we have to look to get a better result in Malaysia."

McLaren-Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton (1st): "I feel fantastic - what a dream start to the season and my championship challenge. I am sorry not to have Heikki with me on the podium as a one-two would have been a great reward to the team. It's nice to have Nico here though as we have not shared a podium since our Karting days with Team MBM (Mercedes-Benz McLaren). It was a super race which I controlled from the beginning. I was able to drive at a steady pace without feeling any pressure which is always the ideal situation when you are leading. The three Safety Car periods meant that there was never time to relax, and the whole situation was a bit like Canada last year when I claimed my first victory. We constantly had to change our strategy and the strategists were on the ball throughout which was super. The car is fantastic to drive and the team has done a superb job. I have prepared much better this year than last, and it's important that myself and the team continue to push hard in the months to come."

Heikki Kovalainen (5th): "Obviously my competitiveness was better than the result shows. Unfortunately the last Safety Car phase prevented me from finishing second. Nevertheless I enjoyed the whole weekend working with the team on such a professional high level. My start was okay but during the first stint I had a bit of graining on the tires, but it didn't affect me too much. In my second stint and especially in the last part of the race my car was really good and I was flying. I had a great battle first with Kimi and then Fernando which I really enjoyed. I managed to get past Fernando but then as I tore off a visor strip on the main straight I accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter button and Fernando managed to get past me again. I am pleased but also a bit disappointed as we were looking strong for a one-two finish today."

Ron Dennis, Team Principal: "An almost perfect race weekend for us. Lewis drove a faultless race with a strong strategy where his stops were timed in anticipation of possible Safety Car periods. We were keen for Heikki to go an extra lap before his second stop in case he had any problems in the pits so that he could still be ahead of Nick. Unfortunately the last Safety Car period cost him second place. He showed what a great racing driver he is with his overtaking of Kimi and Fernando, but unfortunately as he reached to clean his visor he hit the pitlane speed limiter and lost a position. As a team we have enjoyed a competitive weekend but there is a long way to go and we never underestimate our competition."

Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "A dream start to the season and all our hard work could not have been better rewarded. We started McLaren-Mercedes' 222nd race from our 55th pole position and this was our 53rd victory - for sure one of our nicest. We had Lewis pit earlier to avoid running into the danger of a Safety Car phase. Unfortunately the Safety Car came out when we wanted to call in Heikki. That is a pity for him as he drove a great race in his debut for the team. However it's only a matter of time before he will get a better reward on the track than today."

Copyright 1999-2018 | AutoRacing1 is an
independent internet online publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed
by IndyCar, NASCAR, FIA, or any series sponsor.
This material may not be published, broadcast, or redistributed without
permission.